‘Representation is the one thing I really want to improve in the force’

One of Gurdeepak Kenth’s key ambitions is for future generations to see a police force that is representative of the communities it serves.

It has been a driver throughout his 18-year career and one of the reasons he jumped at the chance to take on the role as the new neighbourhood inspector at Trinity Road, where he is on a mission to improve relations with residents on the patch, which covers St Paul’s, Easton, Fishponds and Lawrence Hill.

Gurdeepak, who goes by the name of Deepak, is aware of the challenges ahead in areas where people are facing the economic and social fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and where, for some, there is a legacy of distrust in the police.

He is not blind to some of the systemic issues, such as disproportionately in stop and search, whereby black people are almost ten times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people across the UK, according to the most recent Government figures.

“The data is there – we don’t argue with that, it’s trying to understand why that happens and putting things in place to address it,” says Deepak, speaking to Bristol24/7 in his office in Trinity Road station one recent Tuesday morning.

Neighbourhood Inspector Gurdeepak Kenth wants to improve engagement with all communities on his patch – photo by Qezz Gill

For Deepak, representation is absolutely key to bringing about a sea change.

“You have to have a seat at the table to make that change so the more colleagues there are from diverse backgrounds, the better for the organisation,” says the inspector.

“Every day I will talk to someone and learn. Cultural understanding will help us to try to tackle some of that disproportionality.”

Growing up in Southampton, Deepak didn’t see much in the way of representation in the force and admits his parents did not view it as a “viable career” for him, largely because of their own experiences. His dad faced racism when he first came to England in the 1960s and the neighbourhood inspector says a lot of south Asian communities in the area were afraid to go to the police at that time.

It was a police officer who volunteered in a local temple, teaching martial arts, who inspired Deepak to pursue a career in policing and become that role model he couldn’t see.

“He told me from day one it’s a difficult career,” recalls Deepak. “But I like to challenge myself and I knew there were not a lot of police officers from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds and I could not get my head around that.”

He joined Hampshire Constabulary in 2002 and admits his initial few years as an officer, working on a predominantly white patch, weren’t easy but he worked his way up the ranks, securing a role on the firearms unit and then becoming a sergeant in 2009.

In 2018, Deepak transferred to Avon and Somerset, where he worked closely with chief constable Andy Marsh as his staff officer before securing the role as neighbourhood inspector at Trinity.

“I believe in what he [Marsh) believes in, working towards a more representative workforce and inclusion,” says Deepak.

“Representation is the one thing I really want to improve in the force – we can improve that for the next generation who can come in and see people who look like them and be from the same area.”

The neighbourhood inspector says policing has come on leaps and bounds since he joined the force 18 years ago but he is committed to changing things further.

Other priorities for his new role include increased community engagement, especially with “harder to reach communities”; working towards safer neighbourhoods through effective partnership working and helping Avon and Somerset to be more representative by encouraging, assisting and supporting people from different backgrounds and ethnicities to consider a career in policing.

To that end, the force has invested in outreach workers tasked with facilitating the recruitment of new officers to improve representation in its ranks. Currently, 3.3 per cent of the frontline workforce for Avon and Somerset identifies as being from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background – this is up from 2.7 per cent in 2018.

Deepak with Paul Walker and Temba Mahari, two of the outreach workers tasked with helping to improve representation in the force – photo by Lowie Trevena

Deepak says he knows first-hand what it’s like to be targeted by police. “When I was growing up, I was stop checked and had interactions with the police – both positive and negative,” he says.

“I understand concerns, particularly from black communities, around proportionality and stop and search.”

But he insists Avon and Somerset is committed to change. “We are the only force that has met The National Equality Standard and that speaks volumes,” says the neighbourhood inspector.

The Trinity Road Police Station site, where Deepak and his team are currently based, has been sold by the force and is set for redevelopment. The inspector says despite the changes, there will still be a location in Bristol east for the public to contact the police, as he vows his officers will maintain a visible presence in the neighbourhood.

On the immediate task in hand, he adds: “My priority is to win that trust from hard to reach communities, to give that service and for them to have that say. The most important thing for the police service is actually listening and showing that we care.”

Trinity Road Police Station won’t be around much longer but Deepak says his team will still be a visible part of the community – photo by Qezz Gill

Main photo by Qezz Gill 

Read more: Increasing diversity within Bristol’s police force